Chickpea-Vegetable Pot Pie

I wanted to try something that utilized more of the fall/winter harvest and what I wound up with was an amazing "pot pie" that knocked my socks off.

From an article by Big Girls, Small Kitchen in the Huffington Post in February 2011

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 parsnips, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 small potato
• 1/2 bulb fennel, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• salt and pepper
• 2.5 tablepsoons flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pie crust, recipe follows*
• 1 egg, beaten

Preparation

1. Grease a 9×9-inch baking dish, preferably one that's attractive enough to set on the table.
2. In a cast-iron skillet or other heavy saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, then add the carrot, parsnip, celery, potato, and fennel. Saute, stirring often, until all the vegetables are soft, 12-15 minutes. Add the thyme, sage, and garlic, and cook for another minute or two, just until the herbs have wilted. Stir in the chickpeas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a couple grinds of fresh pepper. Push the vegetables to once side of the pan.
3. Add a drizzle of oil to the free part of the pan and let it heat for 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over it and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute, until the flour is vaguely fragrant. Toss the toasted flour back in with the vegetables.
4. Pour in the white wine and the vegetable stock and raise the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened and reduced, about 4 minutes.
5. Scrape the filling into the prepared baking dish, and let it cool to room temperature.
6. When you're ready to assemble and bake the pie, preheat the oven to 375°F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out hearts from it. You can also just fit the whole crust to the pie and prick it a few times. Brust the crust with the beaten egg.
8. Bake for 35 minutes, until the hearts are golden and fully cooked, and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately.

* For the crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 10 tablespoons Spectrum shortening, chilled in the fridge for 1 hour
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-2 tablespoons cold water, as needed

Preparation

1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the cold shortening and pulse again, just until the whole mixture resembles crumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until a ball comes together. If it hasn't completely come together, slowly add 1-2 tablespoons of water, processing as you go so as not to add too much.
2. Gather the dough and form it into a ball, then press it into a disk. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out on a floured surface.